Means for forming tie plates



April 3o, 1940.

v INVENTOR. WML/AM H. @AA/.Ey 3/ HTOR'NEY.

Patented Apr. 30, 1940 n 2,198,986 vMEANS Foa FORMING TIE PLATES William H. Bailey, Pueblo, Colo., assignor to The Colorado'Fuel and Iron Corporation, a corporation of Colorado Application lYIay 24, 19347, Serial No. 144,331

Claims.

This invention relates to a method and means for producing railway tie plates of novel construction. v v

It is an object of theinvention toprovide a simple, economical and efficientl method of punching into a tie Plate ina single operation, a notched aperturehaving an undercut recess for the application of rail anchoring means.

A further object is to combine with av method of the character described, a controlled operation for eXtruding metal from thetie plate to produce a clip seat or bearing-pad thereon. l Still another object is to provide -an efficient .tool for punching tie plates which will be operative under all conditions `and which will be durable and economical in use. f

Other objects reside in novel details of construction and novel steps and methods all` of which will appear morefully in the course of the following description.

The tie plate produced by the method of the present invention has been described and vclaimed 'in my co-pending application, Serial No. 144,330, ledMay 24, 1937, Patent 2,167,864, Aug; L1, 1939, and features described and not claimed herein have been claimed in said application.

VIn producing a tie plate of the type described in my co-pending application, the problem of producing a` notched aperture, having an undercut recess and providing a clip-seat or bearing-pad on the surface of the plate above the undercut, without appreciably raising themanufacturing cost per plate, presented many difculties.

The present invention solves these difliculties by effecting the formation ofthe recessed aperture and the extruded clip-seat in a single punching operation. To this end, an initially-shaped tie plate after being reheated to a'suitable degree to render the material plastic, is placed in a Substantially horizontal position on a specially-designed die and subjected to the action of a punch descending in a substantially vertical direction.

In this operation, the tie plate'is placed in an upside-down position with reference to its normal position of use. The die, upon which the plate is placed, has a contour conforming generally to thel shape of the plate-surface it supports. l

.- The die has a substantially T`shaped punchreceiving hole and at'a side thereof, has a depression providing ay flow-restricting surface. The punch cooperative with the die, is iitted f or reciprocation in the hole and has a shoulder in alinement with the flow-restricting surface.

In Ythe operation of a punching assembly thus constructed, a rectangular aperture having a Acorresponding surface of the die, the action of the punchby its downward movement, will first of all produce a rectangular T-shaped opening corresponding in shape with its lower end portion, by shearing a slug of similar form. Continued downward movement of the die causes its shoulder to indent the metal of the tieI plate with the result that plastic metal is extruded into the space between the pre-formed shoulder of the tie plate and the flow-restricting surface of the die.V p

The continued action of the die produces at the same time a recessin the formed aperture, which in the use of the tie plate as fully described in my aforesaid co-pending application, prof lvides the undercut Vto receive the lower end of a rail-anchoring clip.

, Thus the T-shaped opening, undercut at one side and the pad which together with the undercut confines the rail anchoring clip, are formed in'a single operation;

It will be understood that'each tie plate is usually provided with a number of such apertures, preferably four in number, and the same operation is repeated for each aperture where a single 'punching unit is employed. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thaty a plurality of such' apertures may be formed in a single operation by the use of a multiple die, and punch assembly, and detailed description of the same appears unnecessary.

Having thus described in general the novel features of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which the details of construction and the mode of operation are illustrated, and in which: Figure' 1 is a fragmentary section of a tie plate in position on a die in the course of punching, which view is taken along the line' I-l, Figure 2,; and

Figure 2 is Aa fragmentary plan view of the die and tie plate of Figure 1 and corresponding to a section takenalong the line 2-2, Figure 1.

- Inthe drawing, the referencenumeral 3 designates a tie plate provided with a rail-supporting seat 4' defined by4 a rail-retaining shoulder 5. The tie plate may be of any suitable construction and preferably has ridges E on its tie-engaging surface.

The die 1 has an opening 9, the upper portion i0 of which is substantially T-shaped in cross section, and is extended into a flaring outlet Ilia to facilitate the projection of the slug i4, punched out of the metal in the operation of the punching tool I2. At one side of the die opening I0 is a recess which provides the before-mentioned now-restricting surface 8.

The punch l2 is T-shaped in cross section to fit snugly in the opening Il) of the die, and it has a shoulder I3 vertically alined with the flowrestricting surface 8. Y

After being heated toa sufficient degree of plasticity, the tie plate is placed upon 'the die as shown in Figure 1, which has a seating surface corresponding generally to the surface of the tie plate which it supports. In this position, vthe shoulder 5 on the tie plate projects into the recess of the die with lits end in spaced relation to the flow-restricting surface 8 of the recess.

Downward movement of the punch first cuts out of the tie plate an opening of the shape of its lower portion, thereby projecting the slug I4, shown in Figure l, which passes freely through the flaring outlet of the die opening.

Subsequent to the production of the T-shaped opening in the tie plate, the shoulder i3 ofthe punch indents the metal at a side of the opening, thereby causing extrusion of the hot metal into the space between the shoulder 5 of the tie plate and the surface 3 of the die. The metal built up by the extrusion is indicated in Figure l by the reference numeral 3a, and forms an integral part of the tie-plate shoulder to provide the accurately formed pad for the support of the clip of the anchoring assembly hereinbefore referred to and specifically described in the copending application for patent.

Thus in a single operation a rectangular, T- shaped slot is produced in which a rail-retaining clip may be positioned, the slot'having a notch corresponding tc a part l|205 of the punch, for receiving and positioning a railroad spike, and the slot further having a depression corresponding to and formed by the shoulder I3 on the punch. The depression becomes an undercut, into which the clip may be hooked and locked, when the plate is turned over to its operative position.

Adjacent the slot, is formed the clip-spacing seat or bearing-pad produced by the extruded metal and shaped by the surface 8 of `the die. When the clip is in the slot it bears on the pad or seat in a manner fully described in the aforesaid pending application.

It will be understood that the operating mechanism ofthe punch must prevent its downward movement beyond the lowermost position shown in Figure 1; otherwise the mechanism for operating the punching tool may be 4of any desired construction.

The tools* required in these operations while of a special design are not of such character that they are costly to produce. The operations involved in punching the apertures are eiiicient but inexpensive, and the plates produced by the operation fit properly under all the conditions of rolling and punching tolerances.

While the present invention is designed and used in connection with the production of tie plates, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that the present process may be utilized whenever it is desired Ato form an aperture of the character described in a steel plate or similar composition.

Changes and modifications may be availed of within the scope of the invention as defined in the hereunto appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a die having a surface for the support of a tie plate and having an opening in said surface and a recess adjacent the opening and sloping downwardly from the lateral confines of the opening, of a punch tool mounted for movement in and out of said opening to act upon a tie plate on the seat, said tool being shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and having a plate-engaging shoulder over the recess distant from its work-engaging end and terminating, between the connes of said opening and the edge of said recess remote from the opening, the recess providing a generally downwardly and outwardly sloping, flow-arresting surface for material of the plate displaced by the shoulder in the operation of the tool.

2. The combination with a die having a surface for thesupport of a tie plate and having a T-shaped opening in said surface and a recess adjacent the opening and sloping downwardly from the lateral confines of the opening, of a punch tool mounted for movement in and out of said opening tov act upon a tie plate on the seat, said tool being shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and having a plate-engaging shoulder over the recess distant from its work-engaging end and terminating between the confines of said opening and the edge of said recess 'remote from the opening, therecess providing a generally downwardly and outwardly sloping, now-arresting surface for material of the plate displaced by the shoulder in the operation of the tool. n

3. The combination with aV die having a seat for the Lsupport of a tie-plate and having an opening through the seat and a recess inv the seat adjacent the opening, the bottom of the recess leading directly into the opening a substantial distance below the seat, of a punching tool mounted for movement into and out of said opening to act upon a tie-platev on the seat, said tool being shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and having a plate engaging shoulder overthe recess and spaced upwardly from the work engaging end of the tool a distance equal substantially to at least the sum of said first distancel and the thickness of the portion of the plate above the top of the recess, whereby the tool substantially fills the part of said opening immediately below the recess prior to engagement of said shoulder with the plate, the recess providing a flow-arresting surface for material of the plate displaced by the shoulder in the operation of the tool.

4. The combination with a die having a seat for supporting a tie plate, an opening in said seat, and a recess in the seat adjacent the opening, of a punching tool mounted for movement into and out of said opening to act upon a tieplate on said seat, the tool having an initial, plate-engaging end shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and also having` a shoulder above said end and overlying the recess, the shouider extending outwardly from the tool and terminating in a gouging edge located a substantial distanceinwardly from the edge of the recess remote from the tool,

said shoulder being operable to gouge the surface of the plate and upset metal into said recess, and the bottom of the recess providing a ow` arrestingI surface for metal upset by the shoulder. 5. In an apparatus for forming tie-plate openings, the combinationof a die having a seat for supporting a tie-plate and having an opening through the seat and a recess in the seat adjacent the opening, the bottom of the recess leading directly 'into the opening a substantial distance below the seat, means `for engaging a tie-plate on the seatto punch an opening through the plate over the opening in the die, said means being shaped to conform substantially With the opening in the die, exclusive of the recess, anfelement operable to engage the surface of the tieplate above the recess and movable into the plate to upset metal into the recess andindent the plate, .and means for blocking said recess from the lopening in the die prior to the initial engagement ofsaid element With the plate.

WILLIAM H. BAILEY.

D l S C L A l M E R 2,198,986.Wzllam H. Bailey, Pueblo, Colo. MEANS FOR FORMING TIE PLATES. Patent dated April 30, 1940. Disclaimer led August 18, 1942, by the assignee, The Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1, 3, 4, and 5 of said patent.

[Oficial Gazette September 29, 1942.] 

